← H5642 H5644 →

סֵתֶר

𐤎𐤕𐤓

çêther

H5643 noun

SILEX Entry

Root סתר to hide, conceal, keep secret

Definition

A place or condition of concealment, shelter, or protection; denotes both literal hiding places (such as a physical refuge or shelter) and figurative states of secrecy, privacy, or protection, including metaphoric use for divine shelter or hiddenness.

Semantic Range

hiding place, shelter, secret (place), protection, concealment, secrecy, privacy, covert, place of refuge, divine or human protection

Root / Etymology

From the root סתר meaning 'to hide, conceal, keep secret.' The noun סֵתֶר (seter) functions primarily as a concrete or abstract noun denoting a place or state that affords concealment or secrecy.

Historical & Contextual Notes

In the Hebrew Bible, סֵתֶר most commonly refers to literal hiding places (e.g., caves, shelters) or places of natural seclusion but is also frequently employed metaphorically, particularly in poetic and wisdom texts, to describe the protective presence of YHWH or the condition of being hidden from danger or observation. The feminine form, סִתְרָה, occurs more rarely (notably in Deuteronomy 32:38). Later texts, especially in the Psalms, extend the meaning to include abstract 'shelter' or 'protection,' reinforcing the metaphoric association with divine refuge. The English rendering 'secret place' in many translations can obscure the word's range, which includes external, physical hiding as well as metaphorical and relational concealment. Contrast with סֻכָּה (booth, shelter), which emphasizes a constructed shelter, whereas סֵתֶר is more focused on the aspect of concealment or being hidden. The term's usage remains consistent from early narrative to late poetic and wisdom literature, with contextual nuance determining whether physical or figurative concealment is in view. In much later periods, the concept becomes thematic in discussions of divine hiddenness or protection, but its basic lexical sense in the Hebrew Bible remains centered on the act or place of hiding or guarding from sight or harm.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

or (feminine) סִתְרָה; (Deuteronomy [32:38), from סָתַר; a cover (in a good or a bad, a literal or a figurative sense); backbiting, covering, covert, [idiom] disguise(-th), hiding place, privily, protection, secret(-ly, place).

Bantu Hebrew

No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.

+ Add Bantu Hebrew Word

Root Family

סתר (s-t-r) — hide, conceal, keep secret

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H4563 מִסְתּוֹר and for a hiding place
H4564 מַסְתֵּר and as a hiding-place of
H4565 מִסְתָּר in the hiding-place
H5639 סְתוּר Hidden One
H5641 סָתַר I will conceal

Word Forms

12 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H5643-03 בְּ/סֵ֣תֶר beseter HR/Ncmsc in the hiding place in hiding-place of 7
H5643-02 בַּ/סֵּ֣תֶר baseter HRd/Ncmsa in secret in the hiding-place 7
H5643-11 בַ/סֵּ֖תֶר vaseter HRd/Ncmsa in secret in the hiding place 5
H5643-12 וְ/סֵ֥תֶר veseter HC/Ncmsa And a covering hiding place 4
H5643-06 סֵ֥תֶר seter HNcmsa a hiding place hiding place 4
H5643-01 בַּ/סָּ֑תֶר basater HRd/Ncmsa in secret in the hiding-place 3
H5643-10 בַ/סָּ֑תֶר vasater HRd/Ncmsa secretly in the hiding place 1
H5643-09 סִתְר֗/וֹ sitero HNcmsc/Sp3ms his-hiding-place his hiding-place 1
H5643-05 סְתָרִ֣ים setarim HNcmpa secret hiding places 1
H5643-07 סִתְרָֽה siterah HNcfsa hiding place hiding-place 1

Occurrences in Scripture

36 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H5643-02 Deuteronomy 13:7 בַּ/סֵּ֣תֶר baseter HRd/Ncmsa secretly in the hiding-place
H5643-01 Deuteronomy 27:15 בַּ/סָּ֑תֶר basater HRd/Ncmsa in secret in the hiding-place
H5643-01 Deuteronomy 27:24 בַּ/סָּ֑תֶר basater HRd/Ncmsa in secret in the hiding-place
H5643-01 Deuteronomy 28:57 בַּ/סָּ֑תֶר basater HRd/Ncmsa secretly in the hiding-place
H5643-07 Deuteronomy 32:38 סִתְרָֽה siterah HNcfsa hiding place hiding-place
H5643-06 Judges 3:19 סֵ֥תֶר seter HNcmsa secret hiding place
H5643-11 1 Samuel 19:2 בַ/סֵּ֖תֶר vaseter HRd/Ncmsa in secret in the hiding place
H5643-03 1 Samuel 25:20 בְּ/סֵ֣תֶר beseter HR/Ncmsc by the covert in hiding-place of
H5643-10 2 Samuel 12:12 בַ/סָּ֑תֶר vasater HRd/Ncmsa secretly in the hiding place
H5643-06 Isaiah 16:4 סֵ֥תֶר seter HNcmsa a hiding place hiding place
← H5642 Hebrew Lexicon H5644 →